Printable View
I was just wondering if theres anywhere in the Minneapolis area that teaches or can show a guy to set up and use hand planes i just inherited. Rockler stoped holding classes, when they closed the minneapolis store. I had this posted in general woodworking and refered over here thanks for any help.
Do you have a WoodCraft in your area? What kind of plane(s) do you have? I'm sure you'll find a lot of help here too.
I've been keeping my eyes open for a whie, but haven't seen any classes offered. Of course, I have not searched with much determination...
I know it's not in person, but have you seen if there is anything on youtube about setting up handplanes?
Kinda strange that they haven't shifted classes to the three remaining suburban stores...:confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron Black
Looks like there is a Woodcraft in Bloomington, MN. I see there is a class in January on building a wooden shoulder plane, and a class in February for sharpening plane irons and chisels, so seems like someone there would be able to help.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Baldwin III
Google "Woodworking club Minneapolis" and follow up on the listings. It's been too many (40) years since I briefly lived in St. Paul, so I no longer recognize names of the suburbs; you would know what's close to you.
Reading and practicing help, too.
But tell us more about this "inherited." Father? Mother? Grandparent? Tools that come down in a family are really neat - lots of good karmic vibrations there.
Pictures of tools are always welcome in the Neanderthal haven
Aaron,
Hopefully you will find hand planes to be an enjoyable trip down the slippery slop to Neanderhood.
This may help in getting started with hand planes:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=148076
Also, near the top of the Neanderthal Haven are some posts preceded by the word "sticky."
In the one labeled Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs is a collection of many posts that are good reads for learning about hand tools.
Hope this helps.
As others have mentioned, getting your blade sharp is the first step in getting a plane to work well.
One thing to remember about sharp, at least for me, the blades of mine that seemed sharp a few years ago are put to shame by my ability to sharpen now. In another year or two, I hope to be able to sharpen better than I do today.
What do you have for sharpening at present?
jtk
Leigh Nielsen goes around the country with a half-day demonstration of their products. They bring along their full array of tools, and have 5 or 6 or so experts to show how they work. Naturally, the emphasis is on planes since LN's main product is the hand plane.
I'm on their mailing list, so I get an email telling me where and when this is happening. The last one had a list of cities and dates and Minneapolis was included. Go to their website.
Another direction would be to get online and located woodworking clubs in your community.
I no longer live in Minneapolis, but I grew up in St. Paul, and still go home for the Holidays.
There's a Woodcraft store in Bloomington, just south of Minneapolis.
I know they have classes there and believe some are specifically about tuning up planes.
Here's a link to their current course schedule.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Resources/E...ID=306&State=0
The store has an employee there named Ralph who knows a ton about hand tools and hand tool work. He teaches some of the courses. However, even if he isn't currently teaching, I'd bet if you just go to the store and ask for hand plane advice they'll point him out to you. He's real friendly and helpful and could probably teach you a lot just through a chat in the store.
thanks the planes were left to me from my grandfather im cleaning them up i know they are Stanleys. I checked woodcraft but they only seem to teach how to make them. Im shamed to admit but Dewalt has always done my planing for me, going to build a workbench with a maple top and wanted to flatten it with my Grandpas planes. thanks for the advice everyone.
Not sure how close it is to you, but Mike Siemsen's school is somewhere in that general 'area'. I've never taken his classes, but I've seen him work, and seen his work, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better teacher anywhere.
http://schoolofwood.com/
Aaron-My grampa got me into this whole mess too! He left those planes just laying around for someone to find;). Since they probably hold the same value to you as mine do for me, I definitely think you should take the time to tune them up. Each time I pick one of them up, it's like talking to my grampa, and I hope he'd be proud that I'm using his tools.
If the irons are pitted, go and get new ones (grampa won't mind). You'll have an easier time sharpening a new iron instead of restoring an old one.
Check that the soles are flat. If not, true them up. Sand paper taped down to granite or glass has worked for me.
I'm no plane expert, and I'm definitely not a collector. Taking one of these old planes and making it usable again is fun and educational (for me, anyway...I'm weird like that).
Aaron, if you are like most of the rest of us you can learn fettling yourself, a lot of us did not have as much information available to us as you do now. Check out the rexmill.com site by Johnny Klesco aka Rarebear. Most anything you could want to know about planes. Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned the books available. I found that Garret Hack's "Handplane" to be a great book. I have read through it dozens of time, looking for specific information. You could probably find a used copy for not to much. I too, have many of my Grandfather's tools, pretty lucky since he had twenty three children and dozens of grandchildren and he died almost a hundred years ago. Obviously, I cherish them. Wish you lived closer to me, I would be glad to help you. I am just a little south of you in East Tennessee. About seventy five here today, that wasn't very nice was it?
Ken
Ken
will teach you what you want to know.
Furthermore, there are other resources, too. For instance, Mike Siemsen, who posts here on occasion, teaches everything you could possibly want to know (and then some) at his shop/school in Chisago City. He's a good guy. Google Mike and "school of wood" for contact info.
There's also the MN Woodworkers Guild, too. They're always holding informational sessions, if not formal classes.
Oops! Sorry, didn't see Raney's that post mentioned Mike Siemsen.
A really good DVD is Chris Schwarz's Handplane Basics: A better way to use bench planes. Available from Lie-Nielsen. It's the best $25 you'll spend. Shows how to chose, sharpen and use the three basic categories of planes.
[IMG]file:///Users/fitzsimk/Desktop/Screen%20shot%202010-11-22%20at%208.02.16%20AM.png[/IMG]
Back on my uncle's farm, I had a trip down the slippery slop in the pigpen. It wasn't that enjoyable, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Koepke
The new Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops issue has a lengthy and good article on the subject.
Farm nostalgia is always better when someone else is recounting the experience and did all of that work for little money.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy Lindberry
People who yearn for the old days probably never filled a hay barn without an elevator, shoveled poop by hand, or snapped corn heads off of stalks manually.
(or did any of the mutiple things that could get you killed in a second, like running around on steep pitch tin roofs making repairs while wearing no harness).
Woodworking nostalgia is so much nicer of a slope :o
Aaron,
You may want to check out the Minnesota Woodworkers Guild.
http://www.mnwwg.org/
I agree with going to Rockler (I thought they had a Maplewood store) or Woodcraft and ask a few questions. They can give you advise on what stones to buy and how to use them.
Your local library will have books on the subject too.
Bill
You left out feeding and watering the stock on mornings cold enough that you can only imagine what your fingers and toes feel like.Quote:
Originally Posted by David Weaver